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New Zealand Mado
Atypichthys latus McCulloch & Waite, 1916
A New Zealand Mado at Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, October, 2001. View larger image.
A New Zealand Mado at a depth of 3m, Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, February 2000.
The New Zealand Mado can be recognised by its colouration and fin ray counts. It closely resembles the Australian Mado (view fact sheet), differing in colour pattern on the nape (glossary) and dorsal and anal fin ray counts. The New Zealand Mado has 15 dorsal fin rays and 15-16 anal fin rays, while the Australian Mado had 16 dorsal and 16-17 anal fin rays.
This species grows to 25cm in length. It lives in areas of rocky reef, from the surface down to at least 60m deep.
The New Zealand Mado is recorded from the islands of northern New Zealand, the Kermadecs, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. It may also occur on the New South Wales coast but is overlooked due to the abundance of the Australian Mado.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R., D.F. Hoese, J.R. Paxton, J.E. Randall, B.C. Russell, W.A. Starck, F.H. Talbot & GP Whitley. l976. An annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum, 30 (15):365-454.
- Francis, M.P. 1993. Checklist of the Coastal Fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, south-west Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science. 47 (2):136-170.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
